King's "Drum Major Instinct" Speech
[Program Note: I am taking the day off today. But I did want to post this link to a transcript of Martin Luther King Junior's "Drum Major Instinct" speech. This is the speech that was misquoted on his new memorial in Washington D.C., and you really have to read the speech itself to understand why the misquotation twisted the meaning of his words so drastically that people denounced it and demanded it be removed and replaced with his actual words. King was speaking about the "Drum Major Instinct" idea, which was not his own. He was using the speech to point out that being the one leading the parade is a natural, human instinct, but also one which led to some very negative places. He foreshadows his own funeral at the end of the speech, the important part which got misquoted. Even if you're pressed for time, read the first dozen paragraphs and the last dozen. And may King's legacy never die.]
-- Chris Weigant
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that's a great speech. i loved the part about his conversation with the white prison guards in birmingham. racism has long been the wedge issue keeping the rich entitled and the poor divided. but now that citizens united is the law of the land, who needs racism?
~joshua
Invidious comparison isn't good, even though it can be turned to good ends. It's better than apathetically failing to achieve those good ends, but much better still is to appreciate those good ends substantively rather than comparatively.
joshua -
Even with the "extended" quote some of the media ran, it wasn't obvious how the "doctored" quote was 180 degrees opposite from the entire point of the speech. King was denouncing the entire concept of the "drum major instinct" but you just wouldn't have known that from the media reports. Seriously, everyone, go read the first dozen and the last dozen paragraphs from that speech. It will give you an appreciation for why Angelou was so seriously annoyed. And rightfully so, I have to say.
-CW
CW,
i like the end of the speech, and i understand about the misquote. but that's not what i like best about the speech. in truth i found the story of his conversation with the prison guard in birmingham to be much more compelling than anything else.
~joshua